Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

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Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

113 reviews

ressicajicks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Yeah okay survivor of an abusive alcoholic stepfather figure take my 5 star rating. I finished this book sobbing

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norcalchris's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

3.75

Well written and performed (audiobook). Trevor Noah has a really surprising and rough story that I had no awareness of. He explained a lot about apartheid and South African cultures; it was very informative.

Some of the book got a little repetitive and the organization of the last third felt odd. Rather than continuing chronologically like the rest of the book had, the last part jumped around in time. The ending also felt quite abrupt.

The first half of this memoir was incredibly strong, but my interest dipped over time which affected my rating. My interest dipped due to the inclusion and lengthy amount of time dedicated to stories where it wasn’t clear why those moments had impacted him or his life (the different dates he had in his adolescence, and the mishaps of his dance group in particular). I would’ve enjoyed exploration of the aftermath or post-reflection of these stories, but it was absent.

I also would’ve enjoyed more continuity of story into his current life. He mentioned university and starting to be a comedian off hand, but without explanation as to how that came about.

Overall, a very eye opening memoir and I really value the knowledge it imparted.

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danileah07's review

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Animal cruelty involving cats

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miratass's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective medium-paced

4.5

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ladypunk's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

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mondovertigo's review

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dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

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pomoevareads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Trevor Noah’s voice came shining through in this book of essays about his life growing up in South Africa as a mixed race child. It is clear from this book that Trevor Noah became the intelligent, thoughtful and the critical thinker he is, in large part due to his mother and her careful way she imbued Trevor with reason and love.

Growing up in the waning years of apartheid, Trevor was isolated from society because his mother was a black Xhosa woman and his father was a white Swiss German man. At the time it was illegal for races to mix. With the release of Nelson Mandela and the end of apartheid and the beginning of democracy, Noah still struggled to find where he belonged. He was a child with an unruly Afro and pale skin. He identified as black but was seen as other.

At many points Noah’s sense of humour burns through the instances of racism, abuse, and poverty he experienced. He tells stories of being a bit of a grifter and a troublemaker with an innocence of someone who doesn’t want to hurt others. He shares what it was like having an abusive step father and moving between times of leanness and poverty.

Told together, the stories make up a memoir of sorts for the period of Noah’s life up until the time he is beginning to really get noticed for his comedic talent.

Overall, this book of stories feels genuine and honest. I have been a fan of Trevor Noah’s comedy and see him as a modest, smart thinker who has surpassed the life of many who have had more.

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